Quintana Roo Expands Civic Justice Model to Five Southern Municipalities

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo is expanding its Civic Justice model to five municipalities in the southern part of the state, part of a push to address minor administrative offenses and community disputes before they escalate into more serious crimes.

Municipal police departments are working to implement the standardized Civic Justice framework, which calls for updated local regulations, new sanctions and officer training, state Public Security Secretary Julio César Gómez Torres said.

Gómez Torres noted that Benito Juárez and Playa del Carmen adopted the standardized model last year. The approach targets antisocial behavior and community problems and is designed to keep conflicts from escalating into more serious conduct.

A Shift Away From Fines and Arrests

The secretary said the traditional system relied mainly on fines and arrests to handle administrative offenses, while the new framework establishes a different set of rules for addressing social problems.

Six municipalities were operating under the model in 2025, and authorities are now working with the remaining five in the state’s southern region in 2026. The goal is to consolidate the model before the current state administration leaves office.

“Each municipality has moved forward at a different pace, because they started from different points and first had to reform their civic justice regulations,” Gómez Torres said. “They had the Police and Good Government Code, which offered only the two options I mentioned — fines and arrest. Now we have a paradigm shift.”

Municipalities Rewrite Their Regulations

Because each municipality is at a different stage of implementation, authorities began by reforming local civic justice rules. Previously, municipalities relied on the Police and Good Government Code, which centered on fines and arrests. The new model reshapes how community conflicts are handled.

Gómez Torres also reported declines in several crimes, including robbery in all its forms, homicides, kidnappings and extortion. He attributed part of that result to public awareness efforts encouraging residents to report crimes, which gives authorities the information they need to act.